Top gun: National honour for Tejas Test pilot

Group Captain Suneet Krishna, a city-based Test pilot assosiated with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas programme has been selected for this yearâ€™s Dr V M Ghatage Award. This annual award â€“ tipped as a prestigious one among the flying clan â€“ will be given away by the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), New Delhi.

Suneet, currently working with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), is a seasoned Indian Air Force (IAF) Test pilot. According to sources in ADA, Suneet was posted to the Tejas programme in 2000. â€œHe flew the chase aircraft when LCA first took to the skies in January 2001,â€ ADA sources said.

AeSI chose Suneet ahead of others for the award for his long-standing contribution to the Tejas programme. â€œSuneet has many milestones to his credit, including the first LCA Test pilot to cross 100 hours on

various Tejas platforms.

He is also among those who have logged maximum number of flying hours on Tejas,â€ ADA sources said. Suneet will receive the award during the AeSI annual general meeting scheduled to be held at Thiruvananthapuram on June 1.

On deputation from the IAF to the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) of ADA recently, sources say that Suneet is now a part of ADA as a permanent Test pilot. â€œThe AeSI award is a testimony to Suneetâ€™s tireless efforts in making Tejas a world-class flying machine. As a Test pilot, Suneet along with other team members have given many valuable inputs to make Tejas a completely pilot-friendly fighter. He has contributed in bringing out many modifications to the Tejasâ€™ cockpit over the years,â€ ADA chief P S Subramanyam told City Express.

According to AeSI officials, Suneet was commissioned into the IAF as a fighter pilot in 1989. â€œHe is a qualified pilot attack instructor and has completed the Experimental Test Pilots course in 1999. Thereafter, he has continued to be directly assosiated with flight test activities as a Test pilot till date. He has had several tenures in various organisations carrying out flight test duties,â€ sources said.

With over 4,500 hours of flying on 35 different types of aircraft, AeSI sources say that Suneet has the unique distinction of carrying out two first flights of Tejas fighter. â€œThe award is to acknowledge his deep involvement in the flight research and development program, and testing the prototype digital flight control system hardware and software. Suneetâ€™s skill and experience has contributed across the realm of fixed wing flight test activities carried out in the country, and has also covered all aspects of prototype, production and operational flight tests,â€ sources said.